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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1989. Investing in Research: A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural, Food, and Environmental System. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/1397.
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INVESTING IN RICH A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural' Food' and Environmental System Board on Agriculture National Research Council NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS Washington, D.C. 1989

NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS · 2101 CONSTITUTION AVENUE, NW · WASHINGTON, DC 20418 NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance. This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Frank Press is president of the National Academy of Sciences. The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering. The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the exarn~nation of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon itS own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Samuel O. Thier is president of the Institute of Medicine. lbe National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Frank Press and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council. Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 89-63090 International Standard Book Number 0-309-04127-9 Additional copies of this report are available from: National Academy Press 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20418 Copyright @) 1989 by the National Academy of Sciences No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use by the U.S. government. S036 Printed in the United States of America First Printing, September 1989 Second Printing, October 1989 Third Printing, July 1990

Board on Agriculture THEODORE L. HULLAR, Chairman, University of California, Davis C. EUGENE ALLEN, University of Minnesota EDWIN H. CLARK II, Delaware Department of Natural Resources & Environmental Control R. JAMES COOK, U.S. Department of Agriculture, University of Washington ELLIS B. COWLING, North Carolina State University JOSEPH P. FONTENOT, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University ROBERT M. GOODMAN, Calgene, Inc. TIMOTHY M. HAMMONDS, Food Marketing Institute PAUL W. JOHNSON, Iowa House of Representatives JOHN W. MELLOR, International Food Policy Research Institute CHARLES C. MUSCOPLAT, Molecular Genetics, Inc. KARL H. NORRIS, U.S. Department of Agriculture (retired), Beltsville, Maryland CHAMP B. TANNER, University of Wisconsin ROBERT L. THOMPSON, Purdue University JAN VAN SCHILFGAARDE, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Fort Collins, Colorado ANNE M. K. VIDAVER, University of Nebraska CONRAD J. WEISER, Oregon State University CHARLES M. BENBROOK, Executive Director JAMES E. TAVARES, Associate Executive Director CARLA CARLSON, Director of Communications GRACE JONES ROBBINS, Editor ·~e 111

Preface The United States was once much richer than the rest of the world and, particularly in agriculture, was more productive. Once, the United States could manu- facture products that the rest of the world lacked the technology to make, and could grow and export farm products in quantities and with a quality that no other country could match. U.S. exports did not compete with products from the rest of the world-rather, the United States was the locomotive of the world econ- omy. Now, however, this nation's economic superiority can no longer be assured. The United States is only one of several countries of major industrial and agri- cultural strength. As the United States' almost effort- less economic superiority was replaced by equality, the U.S. share of the world's gross national product fell from more than 50 percent after World War II to about 22 percent in the late 1980s. The products that the rest of the world lacked the technology to make are now made by many countries in a world of increasing technological parity. Advances in agricultural pro- duction in the developed and developing regions have sharply curtailed foreign markets for U.S. farm prod- ucts. Instead of being a major exporter of raw mate- rials, the United States is now a major importer of some products (Thurow, 1989~. New and complex challenges therefore confront U.S. agriculture- the challenges of responding to aggressive competition on a global scale, ensuring good nutrition and a high-quality food supply for all our people, safeguarding our natural resources, and enhancing our environment. But at the same time, we are still leading the world in the biological sciences central to our agricultural sector. It is therefore en- couraging to consider the manifold opportunities for progress. For example, advances in modern genetics can be applied throughout the agricultural, food, and environmental system; and new environmental and engineering methods can help maintain both the quan- tity and quality of groundwaters and surface waters. The challenges confronting agriculture must be addressed in two stages. First, leadership is required to set and implement new priorities so that the most critical problems can be solved and opportunities exploited. Second, the necessary physical and intel- lectual resources must be allocated. In this report, the Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council presents a proposal for a major new funding initiative designed to meet these challenges. The report describes a course of action that will resolve key problems in agriculture, advance the sciences that undergird the nation's agriculture and the quality of U.S. natural resources, and enhance the nation's well-being. The board calls for a substan- tial increase in federal funding for research and recom - mends application of these funds through competitive grants. At the same time, the board recognizes the nation's need to meet federal deficit reduction goals and the need to balance alternative priorities. Agriculture, as the Board on Agriculture defines it, encompasses the entirety of the system that grows and processes food and fiber for the nation. It also encom- passes the related natural resources, public policy issues, social systems, and physical and biological environments. The term agriculture, food, and the environment is used to communicate the full meaning of agriculture in this broad sense. Self-initiated activity of this kind is unusual for the Board on Agriculture, which generally provides de- tailed assessments and analyses of issues only at the request of a federal agency or the U.S. Congress. However, the significance of agriculture for the U.S. economy and the critical role of research in ensuring agricultural progress impelled the board to prepare v

Vl this proposal. The board believes that now is the time to take advantage of recent scientific and technologi- cal advances to solve problems in the areas of com- petitiveness, the food supply, and natural resources stewardship. The sectors contributing to the agricul- tural, food, and environmental research system-the land-grant universities, other universities, agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the scientific societies, and others-are also now making the case for strengthening U.S. agriculture through science. Indeed, concurrent with and wholly independent of the board's initial work, a group of state agricultural research leaders discussed a need for action similar to that proposed here. Investing in Research is the latest in a series of Board on Agriculture reports that began with the 1972 Report of the Committee on Research Advisory to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Subsequent reports dealt with problems of world food production, genetic vulnerability, genetic engineering, natural resources, education in agriculture, control of pesticides in food, designing foods, and research priorities. Investing in Research builds upon that foundation. Chapter 1, the executive summary, summarizes the proposal for an expanded competitive grants program within the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an infusion of new money into it. Chapter 2 presents the proposal and describes its major parts. Chapter 3 PREFACE explains the rationale for major points of the proposal. Chapter 4 gives a review of the major challenges facing the agricultural, food, and environmental sys- tem. Chapter 5 delineates the six program areas necessary to encompass the needs of the system satis- factorily. Chapter 6 outlines the institutional and administrative issues involved in the implementation of He proposal. The report concludes with a set of appendixes covering funding trends for the agricul- tural, food, and environmental sector, budget priori- ties; current program objectives; and other documents relevant to this report. The board expect~indeed, welcomes and en- courages-discussion and refinement of this proposal and then implementation of its recommendations. This proposal presents an investment opportunity in the classic sense. The investment entails some risk and will not produce immediate results. Yet, it will provide the basis for a new competitive position for agriculture, an improvement in human health and well-being, and improved stewardship of our natural resources. Strengthening, revitalizing, and energizing U.S. agriculture will be difficult but far from impossible. We have done it before. Theodore L. Hullar Chairman

Acknowledgments The Board on Agriculture's proposal to strengthen the agricultural, food, and environmental research system is the synthesis of the creative thinking and ideas of the many individuals and organizations that share our concerns about quality science and innova- tion. We thank all those who generously contributed their thoughts, expertise, time, and encouragement. These individuals include representatives of pro- fessional societies; leaders of the state agricultural experiment station system; faculty members and sci- entists at a number of universities; and senior scien- tists at the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Deparunent of Energy. We especially thank administrators and sci entists at the U.S. Department of Agriculture not only for their assistance in data compilation but also for their insights. The efforts of countless individuals throughout the scientific, agricultural, and public policy communi- ties are far greater than can be represented by the contents of this book. For all those who are committed to a strong U.S. agricultural system, we thank you. The members of the Board on Agriculture also acknowledge the contributions of the staff in prepar- ing this proposal. We extend special appreciation to Maly Lou Sutton, whose diligence carried us through many drafts in the process of attaining our final report. ·e V11

Contents Preface. 1 Executive Summary 1 Urgency for Change, 1 The Proposal, 3 Rationale for the Proposal, 5 Fiscal Realities, 7 Conclusion, 8 2 The Proposal ........ An Expanded Public Investment, 11 Program Areas and Scientific Scope, 12 Types of Grants, 13 Attention to Multidisciplinary Research, 14 Strengthen Institutions and Human Resources, 14 Size and Duration of Support, 15 3 Rationale for the Proposal ......... A Federal Initiative, 17 A $500 Million Increase, 20 Support with New Money, 28 A Central Role for USDA, 32 The Role of Competitive Grants, 34 Attention to Multidisciplinary Research, 39 Strengthen Institutions and Human Resources, 41 .v 5 10 ..... 17 4 Challenges Facing the Research System . . . 42 A Competitiveness and Economic Performance, 42 Human Health and Well-Being, 48 Natural Resources Stewardship, 52 IX Program Areas and Scientific C~portunities ..................... Program Areas, 57 Plant Systems, 58 Animal Systems, 61 Nutrition, Food Quality, and Health, 63 Natural Resources and the Environment, 69 Engineering, Products, and Processes, 76 Markets, Trade, and Policy, 79 Relationship between Program Areas and Recognized Priorities, 81 Relationships among the Six Major Program Areas, Scientific Disciplines, and National Priorities, 81 Science and Technology Budget Priorities, 84 Conclusion, 86 . . . 57 6 Institutional and Administrative Issues Program's Location in USDA, 87 Program Transitions, 89 Need to Manage for Multidisciplinary Success, 91 Program Evaluation and Accountability, 92 APPENDIXES Public and Private Sector Programs and Funding Trends ................ B Private Sector Research Activities and Prospects .......................... Charles M.Benbrook . . .. 87 .. 95 128

x Setting and Acting upon Budget Priorities .................... D Statements of Program Objectives and Funding Response ................ REFERENCES CONTENTS ....... 139 · - . 144 ... 153

INVESTING IN ARCH A Proposal to Strengthen the Agricultural' Food' anc} Environmental System

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This book provides an analysis of funding for agricultural research in the United States and presents a proposal to strengthen this system. Its premise is that a judicious but substantial increase in research funding through competitive grants is the best way to sustain and strengthen the U.S. agricultural, food, and environmental system. The proposal calls for an increased public investment in research; a broadened scientific scope and expanded program areas of research; and four categories of competitively awarded grants, with an emphasis on multidisciplinary research.

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